She exhales kindness.
It chills me like a whisper,
    close by my ear,
    unexpected in the dark.

Only later do I know it
for what it is:
    a light giving,
    needed, welcomed,
but so gentle
it took awhile
before it dawned:

"Ah,
that was a subtle and graceful
kindness."

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All
rights reserved.